May Bike News and Bicyclist of the Month

The exciting new BikeBike Commuting+Touring Forum (https://BIKEBIKE.space), created and hosted by Bike Euclid, took place April 23, 2017. Thank you to the large outpouring of volunteers who showed up to set up and volunteer at the event. Bicyclists, neighbors and friends from Euclid, Collinwood, and throughout the region, learned from and shared with each other their experiences pedaling a bike to work and enjoying a vacation by bike. Euclid’s own Mayor Kirsten H. Gail attended. The event will now be held annually and the website will remain available as a resource.

May is National Bike Month, sponsored by the League of American Bicyclists and celebrated in communities across the country since 1956. Here is what’s happening in Euclid:

I enjoy riding anywhere. I commute to Downtown from Euclid. For fun, I ride to visit family in Akron or Hudson, or spend a day riding the Cleveland Metroparks Emerald Necklace. I ride to the store. To Sims Park or Wildwood. I serve as bicycle escort for the Para-athletes who compete in the Cleveland Marathon. For years I've ridden the Pan Ohio Hope Ride from Cleveland to Cincinnati. Not in one day. It's a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge system. Ask me more about how you can donate to the cause.

Ride transportation, recreation, or both? Describe the experience.

For me, riding is both transportation and recreation. It's hard not to enjoy it. When I'm really on a roll, I love hearing the wind, my heartbeat and breathing, and the turning of the wheels. I love riding in packs, in pacelines, and solo.

Do you ride year round? How do you dress for the cold?

I do. I dress in layers, and I have a big messenger bag to peel them off into or take them back out of. I warm up quickly, and stay warm. Mostly.

Do you ride your bike to work? Describe the experience.

I ride 14 miles to work. I love leaving before sunrise. Few drivers are out. It's quiet, and you feel everything awakening. It's exhilarating. And challenging, because at some sweet spot during the ride, everyone else starts driving to work. The road gets crowded.

If you could change or improve one thing about your cycling experience, what would it be?

Basic human courtesy and respect for one another on the road. See above.

Why do you ride?

I ride because I can. It's that simple. I'm a man who loves simple pleasures.

Kath Sonnhalter

Bike Euclid is a local advocacy group working to promote a comprehensive stress free bicycling network for transportation and pleasure, and to encourage and connect bicyclists to resources which support their safe and legal use of their bicycle. Bike Euclid is a chapter of Bike Cleveland. This close working relationship benefits residents of both communities as well as bicyclists throughout the region. Go to www.bikecleveland.org and www.bikeEuclid.org to learn how to get involved, and check out our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/euclidbikes for event details and ideas shared by our community of members.